Posts Tagged ‘freight’

Regardless of whether it’s mitigating the high costs of customer deliveries, reducing freight costs on incoming shipments, or merely reducing the costs on customer returns, all companies see reducing freight management costs as an essential part of improving profit. Some rely upon a strategy of using bulk shipments to drive down the per-unit freight costs on incoming shipments, while others try and use competitive bids to nail down the best possible deal. It’s a difficult pursuit and one made all the more difficult by a company’s manual processes. It’s like trying to catch lightning in a bottle; success is measured by the ability to have everything align and have absolutely nothing go wrong. Unfortunately, rarely does this happen. If something can go wrong, it will. However, there are some solutions to skyrocketing gas prices and the going concern of fuel surcharges, and they include managing freight via enterprise mobility solutions. So, what are some of the ways that your enterprise can reduce freight costs via a mobile, handheld computer?

There isn’t a single company that doesn’t bemoan the high costs of freight. All companies would love to be able to reduce these costs, while at the same time mitigating the damages caused by delivery delays. Unfortunately, given the high costs of gas, and constant fuel surcharges, most companies seemed resigned to their fate; pay the freight bill and absorb the fuel surcharges because there’s no getting around the problem. However, is this really true? Do companies have no choice but to accept their fate, one marked by extremely high freight and the frustration that there’s little they can do to reduce the damaging effects of delivery delays? Well, the short answer is “no,” they don’t.

Do low inventory counts always equate to low costs? After all, inventory is more expensive the longer it’s held and maintaining low inventory levels does help to reduce the high costs of inventory damage and obsolescence. In addition, low inventory also means the company’s is reducing its daily cost of money. However, while a company’s costs to finance inventory can be a concern, a number of companies are surprised to see just how much their inventory costs them when their inventory counts are too low. In fact, an argument can easily be made that a company’s cost to maintain low inventory is just as high, if not higher, than having too much inventory. So how is this possible? More importantly, what are the main cost drivers of a company who maintains too low an inventory count? Continue reading “Inventory Counts, What are the Costs if They Get Low?” »

Have you taken the time to define your company’s inventory carrying costs? More importantly, are you aware of how these carrying costs reduce gross profit and impact your company’s bottom line? If not, then it’s about time you identify your inventory’s biggest cost drivers. These costs don’t merely include the price paid for parts and raw materials. They also include the per-unit freight costs on incoming and outgoing shipments, the costs of inventory obsolescence, inventory damage, ruined Continue reading “What Should Your Company Include in its Inventory Carrying Costs?” »